Motor-boat carousel.



Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

4Min

J. 0. SCHMITT.

MOTOR BOAT GAROUSEL,

APPLmA'TIoN FILED DB0. 1s, 1913.

THE NORRIS PETERS C0., PHOTU-LITHD.. WASHINGTUN. D4 C J. 0. SCHMITT.

MOTOR BOA APPLIGATION FILED DB0. 1s, 1913.

GAROUSBL.

Patented Jan.12,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE NDRRIS PETERS CO4, PHDTO-LITHO., wASHlNGroN. D. C.

TED STATES PATEN CFFICE.

JOHN 0. SCHMITT, OF CLEVELAND, OI-IIO, .ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO ALBERT TREIBER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MOTOR-BOAT CAROUSEL.

masses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 13, 1913. Serial No. 806,393.

To aZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN O. Sonnirrrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Boat Carousels, of which the following is a specilication.

rlhis invention pertains to what is known as a marine roundabout, the same comprising a series of flexibly connected vessels or boats which have the merry-go-round characteristic, all substantially as shown and described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the. accompanying drawings Figure l, is a perspective view of' my invention 1n one of' its preferred forms shown under an open canvas or canopy. Fig. 2 is a plan view, enlarged, of two boats and their operating connections with each other and the center about which the boats make their circuit. Fig. 3, is a side elevation of Fig. 2 looking in at the front and showing also the water tank or channel in which the boats run. F ig. 4l is an enlarged side elevation of one of the trailing supportsfor the radial arms or rods which govern the boats from the center'. And Fig'. 5 shows a modification 0i' the means for imparting an undulatingr movement to the boats as they travel in their circuit.

The conception herein involves the application of the merry-go-round principle to a series of boats traveling together in the water and having the action of boats out upon a lake or seat where the waves give them the rocking movements. It is sought herein to reproduce this effect 'with the nearest possible approach to the real or natural, and thus afford a more or less eX- citing and exhilarating amusement for. children., particularly, but under conditions wherein there is perfect safety as far as danger from accident is concerned. To these several ends I employ a series of boats B, which have flexible connections 2 between them and are confined to travel about a common center C by arms or rods 3. The said arms or connections 3 are radially disposed about said center or pole C and are flexible between their ends to afford rocking or undulating accommodation to the boats. Furthermore, the said arms are connected directly with the extremities of the boats by ball and socket or other Ltree joints, and also are adapted to flex in a vertical direction at their outeends without really affecting their inner ends, and this movement is provided by means of a double spring joint D. At the said joint the links or sections constituting the said arms are pivotally connected and the opposite springs l are supported on their ends by the cross bar 5 rigid with said sections respectively and adapted to allow the boats to toss and play without communicating their action to the trailers or trolleys E, which support said arms on the endless circular track F. The said trailers have rollers l2 which run on said track F, and the inner' ends of the said arms E are affixed by suitable pivot joints 7 to the spider or wheel G mounted to rotate on the pole C. It is important that the said arms should have the freest possible movement on the pole C, and tothis end I have provided said wheel with antifriction ball bearings on saidpole and which is sustained thereon at a given or fixed elevation by any suitable means.

Power is applied to the fiotilla or fleet of boats by means of an engine or motor of some suitable kind located in one or more of the boats, and for this purpose an electric motor is preferred but aV gasolene or other engine may be employed. A single source of' power in any one of the fleet may suiiice, but in that case the other boats will be given the appearance of containing power of their own by means of a dummy engine or the like so as to. at least make the boats harmonize in appearance.

Now, in order to aliord the undulating or' wavy effect to all the boats alike, I may employ say one of two ways for this purpose. Thus, in Figs. l and 2 I show the track F as constructed with a wavy riding surface, most clearly seen in Fig. l, and the said arms 3 of each boat run quite close together on the wheel G and are so related and positioned where they cross said track with their respective trailers or trolleys that one trailer will come to a depression in the track F when the trailer of the other or companion arm reaches a rise or elevation in said track and the said depressions and elevations are uniformly spaced apart about the entire track and correspond to the space between the arms 3 at that point. It follows that one arm of each boat is down when the other is Patented Jan. l2, 1915. Y

up on said track, and this difference is imparted to the boat through said arms, the action being gradual to begin with but soon establishing itself in the tossing movement of the boat as the unavoidable consequence of the construction and working relation of the said arms andftrack. The flex at D is a necessary adjunct but it does not detract from the function of the said arms in guiding the boats on their circuit. Coupling links 8 of wire or rods unite said arms at their middle. Anotherway of getting the more or less tossing motion of the boats is by a wave track H located in the bottom of the fluid channel or tank L directly beneath the boats and having rises and depressions successively so spaced apart that when a boat floats high at one endit will be low at the other and so on alternately around the track and with the same effect as to all the boats. ln this construction a single trolley or trailer J is employed beneath the bow of each boat and runs on the said track H while the rear of the boat is perfectly free in the water. The said trailer is pivoted and swiveled on a bracket 9 on the bottom of the boat and has a spring l0 interposed between the heel thereof and the boat to exert a constant downward pressure and thus keep the trolley down on the track on all portions thereof. 'ln this instance l employ the arms or guide rods or connections 3 the same as in Fig. 1,but these might be dispensed with and the boats put upon their individual guidance by so yconstructing the trolley wheel l2 and the track therefor that the wheel would be compelled to follow the track under all conditions of travel and regardless of the load. llfhis can be accomplished by giving the said wheel l2 a deep flanged periphery of say il shape and a track to correspond, ory the equivalent of such a construction. rlhe connection 2 between boats would however necessarily be preserved.

l/Vhat l claim is:

l. The installation described consisting of a water tank, a series of boats connected endwise and radially disposed arms adapted to guide said boats in a circle, a spring pressed supporting trolley for each arm and a circular undulating track on which said trolleys travel, said arms being flexible between their ends.

2. An amusement installation as described, comprising a water tank, a series of boats flexibly connected and a pair of arms pivoted respectively with the ends of each boat and radially disposed from the center of said tank, a rolling carrier :for each arm and an undulating track on which said can riers travel, said arms extending across said track and spaced apart at said crossing so as to bring one arm into a depression and the other onto a rise of said track alternately, and connecting links uniting all said arms outside said undulating track.

3. A roundabout amusement installation comprising a water tank, a series of flexibly connected boats in said tank, a central upright and a spider free to turn thereon, radially disposed flexible arms in pairs connected with said spider and said pairs of arms connected respectively with the ends of said boats, an undulating track about said spider and apart therefrom and a trolley wheel on each arm adapted to travel on said track, the flex of vsaid arms being outside said undulating track.

t. The installation described comprising a central post, a spider provided with antifriction bearings rotatable on said post, a series ofl boats flexibly connected at their ends and a pair of radially disposed arms connected respectively with the ends of said boats and said pairs of arms each starting from the same pivot on said spider, a circular undulatingy track about said spider and spring pressed carriers for said several arms running on said track and supporting said arms thereon, the said undulations and arms where they cross the same being so disposed that one arm of a pair reaches a high point in an undulation when the other reaches a low point.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN O. SGHMTT.

Witnesses: e

R. B. MOSER, F. C. HARROLD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

